County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.
Acting
Jamie Bell's feet do what his mouth cannot
Direction
Daldry makes coal dust look like fairy dust
Score
T. Rex and Tchaikovsky in unholy union
Director
Stephen Daldry
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jamie Bell had never danced before; he trained for two years and performed his own pirouettes.
The real 1984 miners' strike devastated northern England for a generation; the film's hopeful ending was controversial among affected communities.
GB
